Press and News – Page 17

BE OPEN’s Ranking of Educational Programmes Reviewed by Creative Industry Professionals

11 April 201818 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

BE OPEN, a humanitarian organisation set up by the international businesswoman and philanthropist Elena Baturina with the aim to foster creativity and innovation, has been developing its independent Ranking of Educational Programmes in Architecture and Design since 2013. The final selections now contain 523educational programmes in Europe, North America, Africa, South America and Asia.

The Ranking is part of BE OPEN’s Inside the Academy initiative and was conceived for a number of audiences and purposes: for future students to help them select the perfect course; for academics to provide with a clear picture of successes and ways to improve their offers, and for potential employers, looking for young professionals who would best suit their needs.

Architecture and Design: BE OPEN’s Ranking of Educational Programmes Reaches to CIS, Central Asia and Oceania

10 April 201818 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

BE OPEN foundation, a humanitarian organisation set up by the international businesswoman and philanthropist Elena Baturina with the aim to foster creativity and innovation, is rolling out its Ranking of Educational Programmes in Architecture and Design to the yet unresearched regions of the globe – CIS and Central Asia, Oceania and Australia.

The research, conducted by BE OPEN, has already mapped 83 creative educational programmes in Europe, 208 programmes in North America, 34 in Africa, 102 in South America, and 96 programmes in Asia. The results will be systematized in a single database that will further on be revaluated and updated regularly.

BE OPEN and The Mayor’s Fund for London Announce The Winner of Their Global Open Call

23 March 201818 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

BE OPEN, a creative think-tank founded by the international entrepreneur and philanthropist Elena Baturina, and the Mayor’s Fund for London, a social mobility charity, has selected the winner of their open call #BEOPENDesignCity. The open call was inspired by the City Pitch Leadership Programme held in 2017 and 2018 by the Mayor’s Fund for London in cooperation with BE OPEN.

The winner has been selected by the members of BE OPEN and MFL from a shortlist of submissions with the highest ratings of likes by Instagram users. Both the teams congratulate Gustavo Schlittler @gustavoschlittler, whose winning submission will now bring him the prize of €300!

BE OPEN Reveals New Ranking of Educational Programmes for Europe

15 February 201818 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

Elena Baturina’s BE OPEN foundation, a humanitarian organisation designed to foster creativity and innovation, announces the completion of its Ranking of Educational Programs in Architecture and Design in the most complex region for research, Europe.

While working on this latest research BE OPEN reached to 208 European universities and colleges that deal with relevant creative disciplines, as well as 16 professional associations and representatives of 64 bureaus. The comprehensive study has involved analysis of more than 800 individual educational programs, as well as gathering data through interviews with key decision makers and industry leaders, including heads of design studios and architectural bureaus.

BE OPEN Supports Entrepreneurial Community Projects by London Schoolchildren

21 December 201718 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

Youngsters ‘Say NO to Knives’ and ‘NObesity’ as part of City Pitch, a dragon’s den style leadership programme which encourages children to step up and deliver social action ideas in their community. City Pitch is an initiative led by social mobility charity, the Mayor’s Fund for London, in partnership with the BE OPEN Foundation.

Armed with business plans and budgets, the final top six schools were invited to attend City Hall and present their entrepreneurial projects to a panel of judges for a chance to win up to £1,500 of funding.

BE OPEN Forges New Partnership with the Mayor’s Fund for London within City Pitch Leadership Programme

20 December 201718 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

BE OPEN, the international think-tank founded by businessperson and philanthropist Elena Baturina to encourage and support creativity and design thinking in various fields of human activities, continues its cooperation with the Mayor’s Fund for London as the new lead partner of the City Pitch Leadership programme.

The City Pitch Leadership Programme involves young Londoners and helps them learn new skills while making a real difference to their communities. The programme offers young people the chance to develop important leadership, teamwork, and presentational skills, with professional mentors on hand to help them prepare their pitches. All the projects must present tangible opportunities to improve the life of their communities, and therefore make the city of London a better place for the younger generations through their own effort. By pitching their ideas to a panel of experts at City Hall, the children can secure funding for their projects.

The Mayor’s Fund for London Announces New Trustees

20 December 201722 June 2022Ekaterina Vekova

New Trustees have been appointed to the Board of the Mayor’s Fund for London. We are a social mobility charity that empowers young Londoners from disadvantaged backgrounds to acquire the skills and opportunities they need to secure employment, climb the career ladder and escape the threat of poverty. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is the charity’s Patron. Last year, the Fund supported over 31,000 young Londoners, across all 33 boroughs, working in partnership with 325 schools, 220 employers and 78 charities, social enterprises and local authorities.

Welcoming them to the Board, Chair of Trustees, Tim Roberts said, ‘The Mayor’s Fund has always benefited from the support and leadership of an immensely experienced, diverse and committed Board. Several of our first cohort of Trustees have now completed their maximum 9 year terms, and we are hugely grateful for their contributions. We are delighted to welcome new Trustees to take their place.’

Hundreds of Children Take Over City Hall to be ‘Mayor for the Day’ with Support from Elena Baturina’s BE OPEN Foundation

20 December 201718 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

Friday 1st December saw hundreds of London school pupils, representing more than one million children from across the capital, come together to share their ‘Mayor for the Day’ ideas as part of the London Children’s Festival, developed by social mobility charity the Mayor’s Fund for London in partnership with BE OPEN, the think-tank founded and run by philanthropist and Mayor’s Fund for London Trustee Elena Baturina.

For several weeks since the beginning of the new school term, schoolchildren from eight London primary and secondary school considered how they would make the world’s greatest city even better for themselves, their fellow pupils, families and communities if they were ‘Mayor for the Day’. Each school created a short film and advertising campaign to promote their recommendations before presenting them at the Festival to an influential panel comprising Deputy Mayor of London, Joanne McCartney, the Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield OBE, teams of Mayor’s Fund for London and BE OPEN.

Elena Baturina’s BE OPEN Helps Children Take Over City Hall as ‘Mayor for the Day’

19 December 201718 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

Over a thousand schoolchildren from across the capital have been considering how they would make their city even better if they were “Mayor for the Day” as part of the London Children’s Festival developed by the Mayor’s Fund for London in cooperation with Elena Baturina’s BE OPEN foundation, the lead supporter of both the London Children’s Festival and the City Pitch programme.

Focusing on Mayoral priorities such as: ‘Jobs, Skills and Education’, ‘Environment, Health and Food’, ‘Crime, Safety and Travel’ and ‘Housing, Play and Public Spaces’, the London Children’s Festival asks children and young people, aged 9 to 14, to consider how they connect to and interpret these themes and explore their ideas and vision relating to the future of London.

A New Global Open Call Together with the Mayor’s Fund for London

20 November 201718 March 2019Ekaterina Vekova

BE OPEN, a creative think-tank founded by the international entrepreneur and philanthropist Elena Baturina, is launching its next global open call across social media together with the Mayor’s Fund for London, a social mobility charity. The open call named #BEOPENDesignCity is inspired by the City Pitch Leadership Programme held in 2017 and 2018 by the Mayor’s Fund for London in cooperation with BE OPEN.

The open call invites people globally to share visual pieces depicting what they love about their cities, what they would like to preserve or add, as well as any other ideas of what could be improved in their everyday urban lives.